Europe

The crash in share prices as the coronavirus pandemic has gathered pace is soon likely going to force some sellers to execute equity block trades to cover loans secured against stock, or just to access capital quickly. But these sellers are going to have to stomach heavy discounts to get the liquidity required to execute trades, as one company proved on Monday night.

Market participants are debating whether the EU is responding quickly and strongly enough in the coronavirus crisis, after the bloc put off the question of how to involve the European Stability Mechanism on Monday evening.

Central banks are dusting off the 2008 playbook, thrusting liquidity at the banking system and hoping some of it gets through to banks' end clients. It’s better than nothing, but the coronavirus crisis one primarily of corporates — and the rescue toolkit needs updating.

Martin Roland has moved from FIG syndication at LBBW to funding and debt investor relations.

KfW is exploring whether it needs to increase the size of its annual capital markets funding programme after outlining plans to expand its lending to help companies affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

Despite current market turbulence, Kommuninvest, the funding body for Swedish local governments, still plans to press on with its debut euro green bond when volatility abates, according to its head of debt management.

Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations plans to proceed with funding outside of its core currencies of euros and dollars in the coming months, in spite of the volatility.

Private debt funds in Europe may be the hot new thing to some in capital markets but they could be about to come of age, having never been through a serious credit downturn before. The market is under scrutiny over how it will cope with the credit ramifications of Covid-19.

A good number of covered bond issuers are planning deals, and some had hoped to open books on Monday, but market conditions were too volatile. The market is open provided careful attention is paid to name, spread, tenor and timing — with the key to success down to careful preparation, bankers told GlobalCapital on Monday.

ING Groep said on Monday that it would redeem a pair of perpetual capital instruments, including an additional tier one bond, after deciding the move would be in its economic interest.

FIG DCM officials say it is impossible to tell when banks could return to selling unsecured debt, with markets locked in a period of extreme volatility and uncertainty.

As the deadly Covid-19 virus continues to wreak havoc on global markets and supply chains, emerging market lenders are proceeding to discuss financing options with clients, but are only comfortable funding those of the highest quality, according to bankers. Origination processes are becoming more stringent than ever, with some lenders requesting to see borrowers detailed contingency plans.